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European Council

EU ministers gave final approval Tuesday to new laws to tackle marine litter coming from single-use plastic products found on European beaches, as well as abandoned fishing gear and oxo-degradable plastics.

With the European Parliament elections only two weeks away, EU leaders met at a summit Thursday to begin a discussion on what sort of EU future they want to build if and when Brexit finally takes place.

After lengthy debate at a summit in Brussels Thursday, EU leaders agreed a short Article 50 extension till 12 April, or 22 May if the UK Parliament approves Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement next week.

The EU Council adopted Tuesday a series of legislative acts as part of its contingency preparations for a 'no-deal' Brexit, aiming to limit the most severe damage a disorderly Brexit would cause business and citizens.

EU finance ministers added Bermuda, the United Arabic Emirates and eight other jurisdictions to a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes Tuesday, bringing to 15 the number of countries on the list.

Leaders of the EU and the League of Arab States meeting for the first ever summit between the two regions agreed Tuesday to strengthen cooperation particularly on border control and the fight against irregular migration.

50 days before Britain is due to leave the EU Council president Donald Tusk said many British and Irish people who wished for a reversal of Brexit lacked effective leadership and the political force to remain.

As PM Theresa May sought to save her Brexit deal at a Brussels summit Thursday, EU leaders clarified their position on the 'backstop' but stated there would be no renegotiation of the UK withdrawal deal.

If the UK Parliament were to reject the 'only possible deal' in its upcoming Brexit vote, the EU was prepared for the alternative 'no deal' or no Brexit at all, EU president Donald Tusk told the G20 summit.

As the EU reaches a "decisive moment" in the Brexit process, both the EU and the UK will have "full control" of their own legislation and rule-making, according to the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

EU finance ministers meeting Tuesday have some way to go before they can agree on the digital service tax directive, aimed at addressing the most urgent gaps and loopholes in the taxation of digital activities.

EU Member States agreed their position Wednesday on a proposal to ban single-use plastics, clarifying the products covered and proposing that producers of plastic items cover the costs of litter clean-up.

EU leaders at a summit in Brussels to review progress on Brexit talks declared their readiness Thursday to consider any British proposal to extend the two-year transition period once the UK leaves the EU.

China needs to take responsibility for global problems of overcapacity in the steel and aluminium sectors, and conform to stricter rules on state aid, the European Union said at a summit in Beijing Monday.

"Appreciate your allies, after all you don't have that many," EU Council president Tusk told US president Trump Tuesday, as NATO and the EU signed a joint declaration to strengthen military cooperation.

"A Europe that protects" is the motto of the Austrian presidency of the Council of the EU, which the country took over from Bulgaria on 1 July, putting migration and security issues at the top of its priority list.